Social Realism: The Inbetweeners

The Inbetweeners is a British Sitcom as well as a British coming of age film. The main characters Simon, Jay, Will and Neil who are British teenage boys who are at sixth form and in the film they have finished their A levels. 

Why has this had an effect on me?

The Inbetweeners franchise is easy to relate to as it is set in a similar situation that I and many other young people are in. Especially in the last few years of high school you really meet the Jay's of this world. Even though the characters are in some cases the extremes of certain characteristics that make up a average teenage boy this has worked to the programmes advantage to make it a comedy, because they are so different and the friction between them allows for jokes that maybe wouldn't work well if they were all similar. The relationship with the adults also shows some truth in real life. They joke about Neil's dad being a gay and tease Neil about it, however they talk to his dad politely and shows respect. Simon's relationship with his parents is realistic, but over exaggerated to make it funny. He moans and acts like a moody teenager when they politely ask him to do something, he gives an overreacted whine for the comedic effect, but it is true to the percept of those moody teenagers. It reminds me of a less extreme version of Kevin from the Harry Enfield Show)...     

Theories...

Althusser - Interpellation (1918-1990)

The term interpellation was an idea introduced by Louis Althusser to explain the way in which ideas get into our heads and have an effect on our lives, so much so that cultural ideas have such a hold on us that we believe they are our own. Interpellation is the idea that we are “bred” to think, act and react in certain ways. We are interpellated from the day that we are born into specific roles that society has created for us.

Info found from http://www.longwood.edu/staff/mcgeecw/notesoninterpellation.htm

Barthes 

Death of the author - 

Barthe argues against traditional literary criticism's practice of incorporating the intentions and biographical context of an author in an interpretation of a text, and instead argues that writing and creator are unrelated. 

"To give a text an Author" and assign a single, corresponding interpretation to it "is to impose a limit on that text."

Image reinforcing cultural myths - 

Roland Barthes, in his 1957 book Mythologies, argues exactly this : that no language use can be separated from structures of ideology and power. Barthes recognised that the signified can operate on two levels of signification- the primary level, that is, the most commonly accepted signified (four legs, barks, smells); and a secondary level of signification - the 'other' signifieds that we come to culturally accept (so with 'dog' this might be 'scoundrel' or 'ugly woman'). The descriptions he used are now common - denotation and connotation.

Mulvey - Male gaze theory 

It describes the act of looking; began as the study of the objectification of women in visual texts. Laura Mulvery introduced the "male gaze" as a feature of gender power in film. Mulvey argues that in classic Hollywood films in particular women are merely represented to provide visual pleasure to men.  Her concept of to be looked at, exemplifies that women were merely shown on screen in classic Hollywood in order to provide men with visual pleasure and have an erotic impact. Mulvey argued that the typical key protagonist within a classic Hollywood film was male and the audience members where similarly typically expected to be men.

Winship - Gender complicity 

Janice Winship (1987) has been an extremely influential theorist. “The gaze between cover model and women readers marks the complicity between women seeing themselves in the image masculine culture has defined”. The ‘final girl’ is always a pure, innocent girl who abstains from sex and may be less attractive than the other female characters. The message here is clear, in horror film, if you are a woman, sex = death

Representations of British Culture

What Characteristics do you think are British?

British characteristics would be influenced by the British stereotypes in all aspects. In Human Traffic the British characteristics are highlighted through the origin and setting of the location and casting. The cockney accent used by Moff is a signature characteristic of a common Londoner. The also use of tea in the film, when they are sat down with their parents. It is a traditional ritual in Britain. 

Do the Characters have 'British Reserve'?

'British Reserve' refers to British people wanting to be left alone and to get on with stuff by themselves and the idea of not talking to anyone on the street. This is evident in Human Traffic and is a true British characteristics. This doesn't apply when they are off their faces on drugs and will talk to the strangers like they are friends. 

The National Anthem:

1) Do you believe that the monarchy should still exist in the UK 'long reign over us'?

I don't believe the monarchy really does reign over us, in the past they did and the anthem had meaning, but now its just part of our culture and tradition. There main roles of today is to bring in tourism and take our money. They don't have much power, because we live in a democracy and the Government run the country. 

2) What part of the national anthem do you believe in and why?

I like how the anthem is devoted to the Queen, because she is the symbol of the British Empire. It illustrates us as a nation that is united and together. I agree they wish the Queen well - showing that they have compassion and feeling, while being a strong united front. They are using the Queen as a metaphor for the country.  

3) What part of the national anthem do you disagree with and why? 

The anthem has become outdated and now it is very common for some people not to know the anthem or in fact any history about the Monarchy. 

Human Traffic - New National Anthem:

1) Why did Jip rewrite the national anthem (what issues are he raising)? 

Jip is raising more modern and realistic issues. He is venting about how no one really knows who the Queen is and how his generation is alienated and distant from the traditions of the Monarchy and the British culture. 

2) Do you believe the new national anthem is easier to identify with than the original one and why?    

The new one is easier to identify, because it is more relatable with modern times. The original one is all about the Queen and how we must protect her and fight for her, nowadays most people don't care. The percentage of people who are now patriotic is getting smaller and smaller.    

Authority Figures

How were the 'authority figures' in Human Traffic represented?

1) Moff's Father

Moff's father is identified as a policeman, so he has a lot of authority and respect within the community. He is portrayed as the man of the house and he looks sophisticated and responsible from his smart attire. He has definite authority over his son, by giving him orders and telling him to grow up, take responsibility and get a job. To the audience he is the most serious character and is the absolute version of adult life.     

2) Jip's Mother

Jip loves his mother and it is made clear that he respects her, however, he doesn't like her lifestyle of practically being a prostitute. She doesn't have a heavy presence in the film, but she appears at the end receiving affection from her son.     

3) Koop's Father  

Koop's dad is in a mental clinic and isn't 'all there'. His mental ability is limited and he is looked after by nurses. He doesn't have a strong authoritative figure in the film, he is shown as a weaker character. Contrasting with other adults like Moff's father. The audience feels sorry for Koop and his dad, because of the situation. 

Cultural Hegemony

Gramsci, 1930

Cultural hegemoy is the philosophic and sociological concept, originated by the Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci, that a culturaly-diverse society can be ruled or dominated by one of it's social classes. it is the dominance of one social group over another e.g. the ruling class over all other classes. The theory claims that the ideas of the ruling class come to be seen as the norm; they are seen a universal ideologies, perceived to benefit everyone whilst only really benefitting the ruling class. 

Theory Revision:

Audience theory powerpoint from robertclackmedia

Media and Collective identity

"Identity is complicated. Everyone thinks they've got one" - Gauntlet 2001

"A focus on identity requires us to pay attention to the diverse ways in which media and technologies are used in everyday life, and their consequences both individuals and for social groups" 

- Buckingham 2008

"Religious and national identities are at the heart of major international conflicts...the average teenager can create three online identities before breakfast... each of us would like to think - to some extent - that we have special, personal qualities, which make us distinctive and valuable to other people in our lives" - Gauntlet 2007

Goffman (1990) - 'The presentation of self' 

e.g. You see your teacher socialising, it can seem strange because you see them demonstrating a professional identity. 

"The history of mass communications research is conspicuously lacking in any clear evidence on the precise influence of the mass media"

- Cumberbatch and Howitt, 1989 

Post humanism

MOVING BEYOND THE LIMITATIONS OF A HUMAN.
In critcial theory, the posthuman is a 'speculative' being that represents or seeks to enact a re-writing of what is generally conceived of as human.

EVERY HUMAN HAS THESE QUALITIES.Human nature is universal state from which human being emerges. Human nature is autonomous, rational, capable of free will and unfied in itself as the apex of existence.

HUMANS ARE CRITICAL OF THEIR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL LIMITATIONS.
Posthuman recognises imperfectability and disunity within him or herself, instead understanding the world through context and heterogenerous perspectives.

HUMAN BEINGS CAN ALTER THEIR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL STATE TO BECOME ANOTHER BEING ENTIRELY.
Key to this posthuman practice is the ability to fluidly change perspectives and manifest oneself through different identities. For critical theorists of the subject, has an emergent ontology rather than a stable one: posthuman isn't singular, defined indvidual, but rather one who can "become" or embody different identities and understand the world from multiple, heterogeneous perspectives

Drug Laws driven by 'Moral Panic'

Drug laws are driven by 'moral panic' and should be replaced by a more flexible approach that recognises most drug users harm.

"Drug use should be treated as a health issue and not just as a matter for police and courts", said a commission formed by the Royal Society of Arts. It said the misuse of drugs act was not fit for purpose and should be scrapped, as it is driven more by 'moral panic' than by a practical desire to reduce harm.

"You should take all of the substances that cause harm, draw up an index of harms that they do cause... and look at them coolly and rationally and decide what policy approach is most appropriate to each of those substances."   

A new Misuse of Substances Act which would regulate illegal drugs alongside alcohol, tobacco, proscribed medicines and other legal drugs. The bulk of drugs education should be moved to primary schools, it said, adding that the only practical drugs message for secondary pupils was 'harm reduction'.

Former Conservation leader Ian Duncan Smith agreed that drugs laws were "chaotic", but the study had ignored the need to help addicts get off drugs.

The Home Office said the governments drug strategy had been a success, with record numbers of people entering and staying in treatment.

The Misuse of Drugs Act (1971)

The act is to prevent the use of non-medical drugs as well as medicinal drugs, which is also under the Medicines Act, but also drugs with no current uses. Drugs subject to this Act are known as 'controlled drugs'. The main difference from the Medicines Act is that the misuse of Drugs Act also prohibits unlawful possession. 

Class A:
- Cocaine and crack, Ecstasy, heroin, LSD, methadone, methamphetamine, magic mushrooms containing ester of psilocin and any Class B drug which is injected.
By law these are treated as the most dangerous.

Class B:
Amphetamine, barbiturates, codeine and cannabis.

Class C:
Anabolic steroids and minor tranquillisers.  

Offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act can include:

• Possession of a controlled drug
• Intent to supply another person
• Production, cultivation or manufacture of controlled drug
• Supplying another person with a controlled drugs
• Offer to supply
• Import and export of.
• Allowing premises you occupy or managed to be used for the consumption (Smoking of cannabis or opium but not use of other drugs), or supply or production of controlled drugs.

Ecstasy

Effects:

• A buzz that makes them feel alert and alive
• Feel in tune with their surroundings - sounds and colours more intense
• Often feel a great love for the people they're with and strangers around them
• Chances of getting hooked
• Possible to build up a tolerance to E, which means they will take more to get the same buzz
• There are some long term side effects - depression, personality change and memory loss

The Law:

Ecstasy is a Class A drug - illegal to have, give away or sell. Possession can get you up to 7 year in jail

Risks:

Physical:

• Dilated pupils
• A tingling feeling
• Tightening of the jaw muscles
• Raised body temperature
• Heart beats faster

Short Term:

• Anxiety
• Panic Attacks
• Confused episodes
• Paranoia
• Psychotic states
• After use you can suffer a 'come down'

Long Term:

• There have been over 200 Ecstasy-related deaths in the UK since 1996
• Has been linked to live, kidney and heart problem.
• Using too much can lead to depression and paranoia.  

Youth Culture in Human Traffic:

1) How can Human Traffic be considered a social realist film?

Social realism is the realistic portrayal of society and is typically a British genre. Human Traffic would be considered a social realist film from the themes it covers it youth culture - those being relationships, coming of age, drugs and clubs. Inter-generation alienation is a significant theme of the film including being directly referenced in a pub scene. The film shows the issues of alienation in society and how we are separated by age. Even into today in Britian, people keep to themselves in public.

The characters in Human Traffic are used to portray these different aspects and what society thinks of them, using real archive footage adds to the attempt to make it as realistic as possible. The highlighting of the particular themes in the film will have some influence on the audience, because we didn't see the negative impacts of the drugs like you would have thought, like a character being hospitalised or dying, instead the character gets severe paranoia, but has common sense and decides to stop. This common sense the character has does send a positive message implying that even if the youth are reckless they aren't all complete idiots.  

2) How does the youth culture depicted resist or subvert mainstream society?

The idea of youth culture is supposed create an identity for the young people and be different from everybody else. In Human Traffic the characters resist the everyday life, hating their jobs and wanting to go out and have fun. The characters despite being in their early 20's don't want to grow up and conform to adulthood expectations. This resentment to turn into their parents is visible so they turn to partying and clubs as an escape and excuse. 

3) What values or morals are presented in the film? 

There aren't many strong moral presented in the film. The film shows the characters as a close group of friends who look out for eachother, there isn't any rivarly or conflict, apart from Koop who thinks everyone wants his girlfriend Nina, but it doesn't impact the group that much. This shows the value of community. Despite the little negative impact of drugs shown in the film, the 'come down' after being high is shown in detail and is presented in the film in a neutral view point. The description isn't biased, but is well written in veiw point of the one who is coming down from a high. It teaches you the consequences, but it doesn't tell you whether it is necessarily good or bad. The film is more informative of what happened and is only reflective of the actions at the end, summing up that it will all come to an end and they will have to except it.

4) How can you consider the film to be British?

The film is a independent film and is set in Britian, based on actual events in the 1990's. It is based on events that happened in Britian, so therefore it is a British film. Social Realism one of the most common genres in the British film industry. The actors and sets are also within Britian.    

5) Analyse a Scene from the Film - Bar Scene

In the scene Jip is explaining and demonstrating how if we were honest to one another how it would normally go. 

 

The shot types are limited to a two-shot at the beginning, then a close up and alternate over shoulder shots. The over shoulder shots alternate depending on who was speaking at the time, this allowed the audience to follow the conversation and see the reaction of the other persons face. The shots also allow the audience to focus on the dialogue and follow the humour of the conversation, as well as the facial expressions on the characters as further emphasis.The cut transistions between the shots especially when they are conversing are quick, expressing the pace of the coversation as the characters want to get of the conversation as quickly as possible.The handshake action is repeated at the beginning of the scene, also highlighting the awkwardness and how neither characters are in their comfort zone, as body lanuage is a key factor when displaying confidence.


The dialogue is key when expressing the social expectations of society and the problem of social awkardness which leads to alienation of groups of people, as shown in this scene.

Felix: "I don't dislike anything about ya, but I don't like anything about ya either."

Jip: "Yeah... together we kinda surf the waves of social paranoia don't we?"       


Jip highlights a key issue in the social awkwardness and the alienation between people in society. It also demonstrates alienation and resistance of communication of people of their own age as well as maturer generations, which is obvious throughout the film. This alienation was also present in Quadrophenia with main character Jimmy, but this was only towards the end. In Human Traffic the social barrer between all young people is established from the start.  

  

London Riots

Between the 6th and 10th August rioting took place in London. The resulting chaos generated looting, arson, and mass deployment of police. 

BBC: 

The BBC has listed reasons of what might have caused the London Riots, using other sources from other sources. The article is a summary of peoples views. The BBC aren't stating the article what caused it, just compiling what they know. The BBC are a reliable source in comparison to other places such as Sky News, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror etc. Instead of giving one view point (their viewpoint) they gave several viewpoints. 

Historian:

David Starkey (Historian) says that part of the reason for the London Riots is black culture. He states that white people are trying to black people, and making further outrageous offensive comments about new cultures, such as how young people speak and rap music. He blames gang culture and race. 

Prime mister:

PM David Cameron made a statement about the riots. Cameron describes them as 'sickening scenes' and 'This is criminality, pure and simple, and it has to be confronted and defeated'. 

He later goes on stating, 'There have already been 450 people arrested. We will make sure that court procedures and processes are speeded up and people should expect to see more, many more arrests in the days to come.' As a top authority figure he is their to reassure the adults and be the symbol representing authority. 

Young Person (21 years old):
Sean Illing gave his personal view of the London Riots in an article online. 

Sean stated, 'It was reported that over half of those who took part were under 18, and there has clearly been an emphasis on the young people that took part.' 
ground

Sean says it isn't fully the youth's fault, and part of the reason is the governments decision to make cuts disadvantaging the youth. 'Most of the rioters came from the poorest boroughs in London. This is clearly not a coincidence. The main problem stems from disadvantaged young people faced with the prospect of more disadvantages to come. Cuts to policing will not help, as Croydon cannot rely on the Welsh police in the long-term. The government needs to take a more sensible view of cuts, and how they will affect people at level.' 

He later states that, 'Politicians can do a lot more to enfranchise young people, rather than merely releasing soundbites for party political purposes'  and '...the sentencing backlash has created more problems than it has rectified. Prison sentences are expensive and ineffective. Rehabilitation is key.'  As a young person reviewing the events, his point of view and his argument is well argued with relative points, which are understandable. 

THE AFTERMATH with BORIS JOHNSON:

Major of London Boris Johnson recently stated in August 2013, that they were still hunting for the 325 people involved in the london riots. Boris Johnson refers to the rioters as 'mugs' and that they will be caught and they shouldn't be so confident about getting away with it.  

Summary:

In the media they focus mainly in the authority figures when addressing the situation. The views of those involved or of a similar age aren't as well heard and given a fair argument for their actions. Those in power tend to be of the same class and ethnicity, who have prejudice  views. The media of various websites create this surge of moral panic to be more dramatic and get people scared.    

Youth culture movies: how soon is too soon?

The guardians article about youth culture discusses when it is a appropriate to produce a youth culture film after it has happened.

It makes valid points about producing it too early, because the culture movement may still be going on and it hasn't yet been summarised. For a youth culture movement to be summed up and described correctly, the movement must have stopped, otherwise you won't be specific about the youth culture, because the lines would be blurred between during and the end of the movement.

Also producing a film too late - The connection between those who were involved with the movement we be lost or remebered vaguely, due to the deterioration of memory. The truth of the movement would be slowly lost and juxtaposed with the media telling you what it was like. 

I think, ideally there should at least be a 10+ year waiting period, because that will allow for the movement to end due to the next generation to begin. The issue mentioned int  the article is about how true it is to the historical events     

We see Children as Pestilent

In a article (The Guardian) written by Tanya Byron, she discusses how children are now represented. We are currently living in a increasingly risk-averse culture, where children's behaviour is constrained. It is described to us that our community lives in fear of youth known as ephebiphobia. Byron argues that children are now becoming victims of our ephebiphobic culture even labelled as nursery hooligans. The young people are feared because if the actions of the minority population. 

Children in response are made to feel worthless and so they become destructive and therefore become incredibly vulnerable. Byron blames the education system for narrowing the definition of achievement, because it is built around targets and testing. She goes on further stating, by a society that discriminates against youth and so reduces the participation of upcoming generation in the development of social cultural landscape. Schools need to support and resources to individualise teaching again. Children labelled as failures in primary and secondary education have no hope of further education given the limited way we assess their abilities.

She publicises her University about their fast-track and fast-forward programmes enable 500 learners a year, of all ages, who do not have A-levels to realise their potential  without incurring any financial cost.

     
This BBC article backs up Byron, by blaming the media for the youths portrayal in the media. Stating the publicity of crime committed by young people is mostly talked about than positive things that youth have done and given back to the community.

The independent took the point of view of teenagers and their opinions of their coverage in the media. It mainly focuses on teenage boys, but the point of view is still relevant to Byrons article. They said that they felt they were been positively represented in popular reality TV shows such as X-factor and Britian's got talent, and that the main cause of this from the media. Surprisingly some teens are now afraid of other teens, because of what is said about them. Teenagers would change their appearance, friends groups and social activities to not be feared. The are trying to reverse the effect the media stories have had on them, so they feel more comfortable as who they are, but because of this fear they can't be themselves. They have to change!

The Theories: Goth Subculture

The goth subculture has associated tastes in music, aesthetics and fashion. Goth is a very loose term and since its creation in the 1970's goths have involved into different types. 23 different types. The most common ones to branch from this sub-culture most recently is the Emo, Cyber and Steampunk .

[Click here to access the website on the different types]

Music Types:
Gothic rock, death rock, post-punk, dark wave, dark ambient, ethereal wave, industrial music and neoclassical dark wave, with contemporary links to the heavy metal subculture.

Fashion:
Style range from death rock, punk and Victorian styles, combinations of them also, most often with dark attire, make-up and hair

The Effects Model:
The effects model focuses on how the media can affect society and how society can effect the media. The theory also helps to explain moral panic in relation to sex, drugs, violence etc.

The article shown to the right does just that. It talks about how those who chose to be part of that subculture are being targeted and it is being labelled as a hate crime, not as the causes of the violence. Hate crime is a very strong label for the violence which occurred. Hate crime now also includes by subculture. The most recent story was in August of 2013, where 38 year old Goth, Alexys Becerra was attacked. News reports like these would cause a moral panic for parents who children dress this way or indeed Goths who feel concerned for their safety. Instead of them creating the violence and hurting other people, it is reversed, where they get the abuse from others for expressing themselves differently.

Definition: a crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice, typically one involving violence.

Two-step Flow model:

The two-step flow model is when individuals look to opinion leaders to interpret the media for them and then from this they get their own opinion. When applying the Goth subculture to the model, the opinion leaders are most likely to be band artists of one of the music styles. For example, Black Veil Brides, My Chemical Romance, Evanescence, Marilyn Manson etc. Since the subculture is heavily influenced by clothing and music their opinion leaders are to be people of that industry, their idols who they want to be like as well being an individual. The most popular person in the group gets followed by the others in the group and they look to them in opinions to then expand on.

Each subculture in different groups in different places in the country will have some sort of leader, but it's not usually the case. They are usually part of a community; Goths don't really have a leader.

Uses and Gradifications Model:

This is when youth culture has used media for their own enjoyment, to fulfill a specfic need or/and to communicate with others.

Since the boost in technological advances social networking sight have become more common. The Goth subculture hasn't really been using the media to its advantage as their aren't any major stories in the news, but the two mentioned above. Out of all the subcultures Goths are fairly quiet. There are of course specific forums for the subculture to talk with others with the same interest and there are videos on YouTube.com, which from watching at aren't as arrogant as would be expected from a youth culture. From my searching on YouTube, I think the Goth Subculture is a very quiet one and is mainly recognised by their presentation.

One example is this video, which touches on the concerns for parents made by a member of the goth subculture. If anything this is a mature thing to do and show them as a polite, friendly, helpful group of individuals, unlike others they don't publicise any negative actions or thoughts. If anything they are understanding and try to clarify what a Goth actually is.   

Youth subcultures use media to express themselves and share content with others of the same culture. It has become easy to communicate with others and that is what all young people do, no matter what culture you are a part of. It is the 'norm' for young people to use all sorts of media, predominantly online.



  

Moral Panic! - Horse Meat Scandal

How did the scandal emerge?

Irish food inspectors announced in mid-January that they had found horsemeat in frozen beef burgers made by firms in the Irish Republic and the UK, and sold by a number of UK supermarket chains, including Tesco, Iceland, Aldi and Lidl. Since then, a growing number of stores and companies across Europe, including Findus and Nestle, have recalled beef ready meals, after tests found they contained horse DNA. 

How widespread is the problem?

Mislabelled processed meat products have so far been discovered in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, France, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany. In the UK, food retailers were told by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to examine processed beef products soon after the crisis emerged. The scandal affected numerous countries over the world.  

Moral Panic

The horse meat scandal was a big news story and created moral panic in the media. Even though eating horse meat isn't bad for you the main issue is that the consumer was lied to and the producers of the products committed fraud. The media used this story, because it affected a large proportion of the worlds population and they were able to dramatize it for effect. Newspapers used language in their articles to make it seem worse than it actually was. For example, "Italian and Polish mafia gangs are blamed for horsemeat scandal as government warns MORE British products will be contaminated" and stating the scandal to be a "criminal conspiracy". 

 
The article then goes on to state,

"Mafia gangs are suspected of orchestrating an ‘international criminal conspiracy’ worth millions of pounds by passing off horse meat as beef. Mobsters from Italy and Poland are believed to be behind the illegal trade which has led to British consumers eating horse when they believed they were buying beef," and that the meat was "deliberately contaminated".

After the panic, all supermarkets were tested for horse meat and came to this conclusion: 

Some 2,501 tests were conducted but the results announced on 15 February showed that no products other than those already identified contained more than 1% horse meat and the 29 positive results were in seven products that had previously been identified and withdrawn. These included some Findus lasagna as well as some Aldi lasagna and spaghetti bolognese - all made by the Comigel food processing company in France. Some of the products were found to contain up to 100% horse meat.

The media used creative language to dramatise the news story and coming up with different ideas to why this occurred. The link to the mafia in particular sets off fear in many individuals with the idea that criminals are behind it, and if that is true, then we aren't safe. The language used when describing events are a key feature to most moral panics and public scares.

The Future: 

In a more recent article published 4 days ago, it was stated by experts of it possibly happening again! [see full article] 

"The FSA said reports of food fraud - which can include deliberately mislabelling products or selling food which is unfit for consumption - had risen from 899 in 2010 to 1,385 in 2012" and "early indications for the first six months of 2013, when the horsemeat scandal first emerged, show reports of fraud have risen by 28% compared with the same period the previous year". Because it is by the BBC and the scandal is no longer the major news story it is predominantly factual information and there is less dramatic emphasis on how terrible it is, because the hype of the story has ended and the media have moved on to another story to focus on.  

How are youth cultures represented in Quadrophenia?

Youth culture is defined by different social and cultural groups. In Quadrophenia, it focuses on the conflict between Mods and Rockers. Like most youth cultures teenagers are portrayed in a negative light. Mods and Rockers created public scares in the media for the bad publicity they were getting, even if the incidents reported were isolated and not as common as the media perceived it to be. Anything negative which happened between a few individuals then reflected on the whole group. 

Quadrophenia is about a Mod called Jimmy, who tries to fit in with the rest of the Mod crowd. After some drama and adolescent issues Jimmy eventually becomes distant with his friends and quits his job as he is hitting rock bottom. Jimmy finally finds himself and ditches the Mod life. 

The general idea of Quadrophenia is well established in the DVD cover artwork. Jimmy is in black print, causing him to stand out from the others, and he is in the foreground. This establishes him as the main character, but also signifies how Jimmy is separate from the group. The colour scheme of the cover (excluding Jimmy) consists mainly of red, blue and white. These colours represent the iconic Mod symbol, which is taken from the Royal Airforce Roundel. The tag line "A way of life" defines Quadrophenia and the Mod subculture as a way of life in a deeper meaning, like it being a religion. Also the quotation from Pete Townshend, "We've all been there", which suggests the audience was part of the culture at a point and we will able to relate. The other characters in the background are shown together with there style and posture being similar and away from Jimmy. 

The title of the film is significant to the films plot and message. Quad means four, the four personalities of Jimmy. Jimmy is supposed to be four people: a tough guy, a romantic, a lunatic, and a hypocrite. Each side of Jimmy is brought out in the film in different scenarios  from his love interest Steph to joining in with the riots in Brighton. Sometimes one could just as easily be another. 

The film is based on the Who's album "Quadrophenia" which is a concept album. Each song follows on from one another, creating a narrative. The Who had a heavy influence on the film and their lyrics are very important. At the end of Quadrophenia the song "I've had enough" summarises what is going through Jimmy's head. The song and the actions in the sequence compliment each other  The last verse hints at what Jimmy has decided to do, despite there is no dialogue the lyrics summarise the main features of being in that subculture. The film ends with Jimmy driving the Ace's scooter of the cliff and destroying it. It symbolises Jimmy's end of being a Mod and no longer belonging to that subculture. His actions are once again emphasised by the lyrics of the Who's song. In the last verse key words are mentioned, summing up a Mod's typical habits (in bold). 

"I've had enough of dancehalls,
I've had enough of pills,
I've had enough of streetfights,
I've seen my share of kills,
I'm finished with the fashions,
And acting like I'm tough,
I'm bored with hate and passion,
I've had enough of crime and love."

   

The camera angles in that same clip is mainly a close up of Jimmy and wide tracking shots of him riding the scooter. Within the first 2 minutes of the clips there is very little cut transitions between shots. The mid shot as he shouts, "bellboy", which makes him very distant from the audience as if he is shouting at us. It then cuts to him turning around in a close up. Your attention is brought to his eyes, which is blackened with eyeliner. His eyes seem to bulge and fixate on something in the distance, his facial expression implies he is "lunatic" Jimmy. As he moves, half of his face is cut out of shot and then comes back into shot, this suggest instability of the characters mental/emotional state. Jimmy then nicks Ace's scooter, as one last act of rebellion. There is a low angle as he fiddles with trying to find the key, suggesting it is a spear of the moment decision and he is rushing/panicking. Diegetic sound is present and the noise of the keys is evident. When Jimmy staggers on the path over to the scooter, his footsteps are very loud to put emphasis on the way he is running. The running is wobbly suggesting insecurity and shock, from the Ace's revelation of being a bell boy, because he was his idol and Jimmy is devastated to find out he is just a like any normal young man. Therefore questioning the identity of being a Mod.   

Jimmy rides the scooter along the road and then goes to the cliff edge. The shot is predominantly a tracking shot which become an aerial shot as he drives next to the cliff edge allowing us to follow Jimmy on his journey. The music follows along with the transitions and the little action happening in the shots, this makes you focus on the lyrics of the song. Jimmy stops by the edge and there is a quick cut transition to Jimmy's point of view of the sea. The sun reflects off the sea and the waves are still. This symbolises a sign of peace and tranquility, because the sea is supposed to be a calm landscape. Jimmy then continues to ride and the aerial shot moves further away, making him smaller. As Jimmy gets smaller it shows him to be isolated and alone. It conveys a message that even if you are in a subculture it doesn't mean that they are your friends. When he is alone about 2 minutes in there is a small instrumental interval. "Love reign o'er me" then breaks up the instrumental, and can be linked to Jimmy, with the idea that he is all alone and wants it to be that way. "Reign" implying he wants to lead his own life and be his own man.  

Quadrophenia shows the subculture in two ways. The first idea as a small community 
or as something violent and negative. Jimmy shows both sides, and shows more confusion about himself. Jimmy is trying to create a identity for himself, but at the same time he wants to belong to a group of people. He wants to be needed. Jimmy and others in subcultures are there to fill a void in their life. They are at the point of change from child to adult, which is daunting and they turn to a group for comfort and to fit in. 

Mods and Rockers

Mods and Rockers were glamorised for their violent aggressive towards each other. The isolated incidents were used to public scare civilians in the media. In a recent article in 2004, it was debated and the truth came to light. Photographers and reporters paid youths to stage a chase or a fight. In the media the images came across more violent then they actually were. According to Howard Bake (1964 Mod) the incident at "Margate some photographs were definitely staged".

The reality is that, Mods and Rockers spent most of the time insulting each other than resulting to physical violence. Phil Bradley stated, "the press hyped it right up. There were only isolated incidents. There weren't riots like in that film Quadrophenia...we certainly didn't go chasing after old people, ever us Rockers." The talk in the press of drugs being a menace facing Britain's Youth's in 1964, is also another false glamorisation. Amphetamines, were described as the Mods pill of choice, which according to the press caused them to become terribly aggressive. 

There was real fighting as well as fake fighting however, not all the photographs were staged. The violence was present in Brighton, but the use of guns is false information. Isolated outbreaks of violence did continue in the 60's. 'The Battle of Hastings' about 1965, was the biggest one. Rather than the Rockers Vs Mods, that the press focused on David Cooke, explained that it was actually Mods Vs Mods. "Mods were fighting each other. The North London hated the South London. South London Mods hated the North London Mods, and East London Mods hated everybody, and everybody hated them." In the end, the Mod movement mutated and disappeared.  

1950's Teddy Boys

Teddy Boys

Teddy boys were recognised for their Edwardian dress e.g. 'Teddy'. They experiment with 'dandy' fashion and appearences and practices as an antidote to Poverty (Fywell 1963). They listen to American Rock and Roll music, musicians such as James Dean and Elvis Presley (Brak 1985). They both use narcissim and dandyism at the same time.

Teddy boys are assoicaited with violences derived from a 'butch' dandyism, which sought to protest working class mascunlinity. They were apparently worse in the winter as there was a lack of jobs and lack of access of places to go. In the Evening Argus article they are said to be this way, because they lack religious beliefs, which puts them in the darkness.

In previous articles they were described as 'teenage terrorists' to create a public scare in articles. In the article Get Rid of Them, they were described as 'very nauseating specimens of English youth,' and  'They are an awful disgrace to Brighton'.

In the articles aggressive language is used to exaggerate the behaviour of the group. The other party involved in are described as minor and small, suggesting the Teddy Boys are big brutes, but are at the bottom of the authority ladder. The Teddy Boys are easy to point the blame at in the media, because they have this reputation.




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